If you have a deck, you need a railing. But how do you choose from all the different types of deck railing? The right deck railing can completely transform your deck in function and flair. With a vast range of railing types and styles on the market, you must decide what works for you!
Comparing popular railing styles can help you find the best fit for your deck and vision. However, there’s a massive range of deck railing types. Most fit into one of these six major categories: metal railing, composite railing, cable railing, vinyl railing, glass railing, or wood railing.
Glass Railing
Glass is the most luxurious railing style, using sturdy tempered glass panels between metal, composite, or wood posts and rails. Like cable railing, glass maximizes your view by removing visual obstructions. Glass railing also makes your deck space feel bigger by letting in lots of natural light.
Glass railing tends to be more expensive and complex to install than most other systems. Still, the look is worth the extra time and money.
Cable Railing
Cable railing takes its name from the cable running between the posts. The posts come in various materials, but the cables are the rails. If you have a deck near a body of water, cable railing is ideal for highlighting your view by nearly disappearing into natural settings. The cables are polished and twisted so they don’t reflect light or give off a shiny glare but absorb light.
Cable has a distinctly modern, industrial look that fits well on decks made of wood or stone. However, cable railing systems can get pricey, and bending the cable around the corners of your deck can be tricky.
Metal Railing
Metal railing is strong, modern, and low-maintenance. Typically made of powder-coated aluminum or steel, it has a smooth, polished surface that looks sophisticated while holding up even in harsher climates. The strength of metal allows for skinnier posts and rails, allowing for a more minimalist look.
Metal railing is more expensive than wood, though wood’s maintenance costs increase over time. Metal railing can look out of place in traditional settings, and some homeowners don’t like that it gets hot in direct sunlight.
Composite Railing
If you want the more traditional look of thick wood railing, a composite fence is a perfect low-maintenance step-up of the same style. Composite railing is a mixture of natural wood fibers and synthetic plastics, with the wood adding strength and the plastics protecting the wood from weathering. The composite material has a wide color option range that looks like painted wood without requiring the work. Composite railings are low maintenance and only need some periodic cleaning to keep them looking good.
Composite railings are more expensive than wood railings and are weaker than solid wood. However, composite railing systems are still completely code-compliant and structurally sound, with wood or metal posts underneath the posts.
Wood Railing
Wood railings’ classic and proven look brings natural colors and textures to your space. However, over time, wood weathers heavily in the outdoors. You can stain or seal it to protect it from the elements, but the costs and labor add up. That’s why more modern wood railings have replaced some less-structural elements with more durable metal. Wood railings with metal balusters and post caps create a nice, timeless blend of the traditional and the modern. You can also lean into wood’s rustic appeal with mesh panels.
Vinyl Railing
Vinyl railing is common in Colonial-style or Cape Cod-style homes. Made from premium synthetic material, vinyl is incredibly low-maintenance and easy to clean. One feature of vinyl railing is that it often has an aluminum framework inside the rails, which helps it maintain its strength. However, this railing doesn’t hold its color quite as well as composite railing and can fade in the sun or form a chalky white powder.
Installing Deck Railing
You don’t have to decide which types of deck railing work best for you alone. Our professionals are here to help work through your vision and any concerns. Let Cypress Glen Outdoor build the backyard you’ve been dreaming of!
